Herb – RIP Sweet Boy
A few days ago, we had to put our cat, Herb to sleep.
I met Herb 17 years ago when Lee found Herb near a subway entrance. I remember yelling at Lee to put him in another room because I didn’t want him near our dachshund because I was afraid a stray cat would give a disease to the dog. I wasn’t a fan of cats back then as I am slightly allergic to cats (I say slightly because you would think I was nuts to live with a cat when I am very allergic to cat lick). My Mom had cats when I was younger and she always told me I wasn’t allergic to them because she really liked cats.
So 17 year ago, Lee brought Herb home and we realized he needed to see a vet because he had trouble walking. We brought Herb to our vet Dr. Frank Battiato at St. Francis Animal Hospital. Herb didn’t have any diseases, but he had a broken leg and a missing hip bone. Dr. Frank Battiato at St. Francis Animal Hospital operated on Herb. We knew the bill was going to be high, but Dr. Battito kept the cost low when he saw we were keeping a stray. Herb made a quick recovery because he was the Greatest Kitty there ever was and because he had a fantastic vet.
A lot of people will say, “awww you saved a stay.” But Herb saved us and he was everything a pet should be. I fell in love with the little panther pretty quickly when I saw what a great friend he was to my dogs. When someone in our family was sick in bed, Herb would sit on the end of the bed and stay with them until they were well. He greeted us when we came into the house each day and was always purring and snuggling. I am still allergic to cats, but medicine and giving Herb baths frequently made the allergies bearable. Plus Herb didn’t mind being a model for my cat hat collection.
In the last year of his life, Herb developed a lump on his back leg. The lump was a tumor and it was cancer. First Dr. Battiato removed the cancer and then when the cancer returned a year later, he removed Herb’s leg (see here). I never understood why people would remove a pet’s leg until it happened to us. You remove it because you want to keep your buddy alive. Dr. Battiato is an amazing vet – not just because he cared for Herb, but he always held onto hope and sometimes hope is all you need.
In the last week of Herb’s life, his weight went down a lot, but he sat with us every minute we were home. When we went to another room, Herb went with us. I didn’t want to bring him to the vet, but I knew it was his time to go because he was no longer purring.
Rest in peace sweet boy – you will always be the Greatest Kitty there ever was!
We will probably be adopting another stray boy soon.
Hugs,
marlene
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